James Harden led the way for Houston, pouring in a game-high 41 points.

Per The Oklahoman:

Russell Westbrook missed a reverse layup at one end, leading to a Rockets fast break. When the Thunder hustled back and forced Corey Brewer into missing a layup, no one from OKC bothered to close out the possession by corralling the rebound. James Harden happily scooped it up before running off 19 more precious seconds and burying a back-breaking fadeaway jumper over Westbrook. […] A deficit that had stood at 13 points only seven minutes before could have been trimmed to three. Instead, the Rockets bumped it back to seven with 85 seconds left to play.

The Thunder had a chance to create some separation from New Orleans in the race for the eighth and final playoff seed after the Pelicans lost at Portland on Saturday night. But the Thunder again sits only a half-game ahead of the Pelicans. The teams are tied in the loss column, with New Orleans owning the tiebreaker.

With a healthy roster, the Thunder has ample talent to overcome mistakes and mental errors. But with Kevin Durant sitting in a motorized scooter at the top of the lower bowl with general manager Sam Presti and assistant general manager Troy Weaver, and Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison and Andre Roberson all on the bench in street clothes, the Thunder no longer has the firepower that once allowed it to ignore the small things. […] “It’s huge, especially now at playoff time,” said Westbrook, who notched his 11th triple double of the season with a team-high 40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists.